Rethymno old town seen from above, rooftops running down to the sea

The destination

A town built
over itself

Ancient Rithimna, a Byzantine harbour, a Venetian fort, Ottoman lanes and two houses of the 1700s — layered on one headland, and small enough to walk in an afternoon.

You do not travel to it. You walk out into it.

Rethymno sits halfway along the north coast of Crete, between Chania and Heraklion, with a mountain behind it and the Cretan Sea in front. Its old town is one of the best-preserved in Greece: nobody flattened it, so the Venetian doorways, the Ottoman fountains and the wooden balconies are still where they were put.

What that means for a stay is simple. You are not driven to attractions. You walk out of a door into the thing itself.

Chapter one

The old town

The quarter around Ink is a grid of lanes too narrow for cars, laid out by Venetians and lived in ever since. Doorways carry carved lintels four hundred years old. Bougainvillea comes over the walls in summer and drops into the street.

It is not a preserved quarter. People live here — laundry, cats, scooters, an argument two floors up — and that is precisely what makes walking it at eight in the evening better than any excursion.

From the door: You are already in it

The Fortezza fortress above the old town of Rethymno

Chapter two

Venetian stone

The Fortezza stands on the hill of Palekastro above the town, built in 1573 on the site of the citadel of ancient Rithimna and the temple of Artemis Rokkea. Its walls run 1,300 metres, with four bastions — St Luke, St Elijah, St Paul and St Nicholas.

Below it the Venetian harbour curls behind its Egyptian lighthouse. It worked in the Byzantine period, after 961, and flourished under the Venetians, who began major works in the 14th century against the silting that troubles it to this day.

Fortezza: Built 1573 · 1,300 m of wall
Harbour: In use since the 10th century

The harbour and coastline of Rethymno from above, turquoise water against the town

Chapter three

The water

The nearest swimming is the town's own beach, a few minutes' walk from the door: it begins where the old town ends and runs east for kilometres — sand, shallow water, and enough of it that August never quite fills it. You can be in the sea before breakfast and back for it.

The better swimming is further out, in coves reachable only by boat, and on the south coast where the water changes colour entirely. A boat can be taken privately for a day. The desk arranges it.

Town beach: A few minutes on foot
Koumbes beach: 1.6 km from the Residence

Chapter four

What Crete eats

Cretan cooking is the oldest argument in favour of the Mediterranean diet, and it is not a health regime here — it is lunch. Wild greens, sheep's cheese, barley rusk, olive oil poured like it costs nothing, and lamb cooked slowly with whatever grew nearest.

The wine of Crete is famous worldwide, and the wineries in the hills behind Rethymno will show you how it is made. Closer to home, there are small luncheonettes in these lanes doing fresh salads and juices, and bars that make the best frozen cocktails of the summer.

Breakfast: Local cooking, at House of Europe
Arranged: Wine tasting, a farm

The mountains and gorges inland from Rethymno

Chapter five

Behind the town

Twenty minutes inland the coast stops mattering. Gorges open, villages sit at the end of single roads, and the mountains run up to snow that lasts into May.

Arkadi Monastery is 23 kilometres east, built at 500 metres on a plateau of olive groves, vineyards, pine, cypress and oak, with the Arkadi gorge beginning below it. Further on, the Museum of Ancient Eleftherna — the first museum in Crete built inside an archaeological site — carries the whole history of the place from 3000 BC to 1300 AD.

South, the Kourtaliotiko gorge cuts down to Preveli, where a palm-lined river runs into the sea. That one is a day rather than an afternoon, and we arrange it with Routes, the family's own excursions company.

Arkadi: 23 km east · 500 m altitude
Eleftherna: 3000 BC – 1300 AD
Kourtaliotiko: A day trip, arranged with Routes

A green Venetian door in a quiet lane of the old town

Chapter six

The parts you would not find

Every town has a version of itself that only opens to people who know somebody. Which lane floods after rain. Which beach empties on a Sunday. Which taverna is still worth the walk in February, when most have shut for the winter.

That is the actual argument for staying somewhere family-run rather than somewhere with a brand manual. Ask at the desk, and you get an answer from someone who lives here.

The Egyptian lighthouse at the Venetian harbour of Rethymno at dusk

Four minutes from the door

The harbour, at the end of the day

What stands around you

Seven things worth the walk

Straight-line distances from reception, plotted from OpenStreetMap positions. The walk is always a little longer — these are lanes, not lines.

The Town Beach A few minutes on foot: The nearest swimming is the town's own beach, which begins where the old town ends and runs east for kilometres — sand, shallow water, and enough of it that August never quite fills it. It is a walk of a few minutes from the door, not a drive: you can go before breakfast and be back for it.
The Venetian Harbour A few minutes on foot: Next to the modern harbour, with its Egyptian lighthouse, this is one of the most picturesque corners of the old town. It operated in the Byzantine period, after 961, and flourished under the Venetians, who began major works in the 14th century to hold back the silting that troubles it still. Seaside tavernas line the quay.
The Fortezza A few minutes on foot: The fortress dominates the hill of Palekastro beside the old town, one of the largest of the Venetian era. It stands on the site of the citadel of ancient Rithimna and the temple of Artemis Rokkea. The great pentagonal fort was built in 1573; its perimeter runs 1,300 metres, and along the walls stand four bastions — St Luke, St Elijah, St Paul and St Nicholas.
Historical & Folklore Museum In the old town: A Venetian mansion in the old town, a listed monument of the 17th century, houses the city's historical and folk museum. Five halls hold a permanent collection of traditional craft and folk art — and the museum's work protects the building itself.
Archaeological Museum In the old town: The city's archaeological collection, in the former church of St Francis — a Venetian monastery church a few streets back from the harbour. The museum moved here in 2016 from its earlier home beside the Fortezza gate.
Arkadi Monastery 23 km east: Near the village of Amnatos, built at 500 metres on a fertile plateau of olive groves, vineyards, pine, cypress and oak. Picturesque chapels stand around it, and the Arkadi gorge begins from there.
The Museum of Ancient Eleftherna Inland from Rethymno: The first museum in Crete built inside an archaeological site, standing beside the ancient city of Eleftherna. Its three halls carry the whole history of the place, from 3000 BC to 1300 AD, in everyday objects and works of art.

How to spend the days →Arriving →

A green Venetian door in the old town of Rethymno, lanterns either side

Arrival

You are met at one door

The hotel occupies two buildings in the old town, and a residence by the harbour. You come to one door — House of Europe, the first building, at Nikolaou Plastira 4 — and somebody walks you to your room from there.

Nikolaou Plastira 4 · Rethymno 74100